Mobile carrier SK Telecom said Monday it invested 10 billion won ($9.3 million) in MakeUs, a mobile media company, as part of efforts to strengthen its music platform business.
MakeUs is a startup that creates mobile content about topics ranging from music, food and traveling to beauty, for Facebook and YouTube. It is followed by more than 330 million users on social network sites.
The firm runs a music channel called “Dingo Music” which is gaining popularity for providing music videos adjusted to the screen ratios of mobile devices.
SKT’s investment in the startup is aimed at reinforcing its music platform slated for launch later this year.
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(From left) Jung Wook, CEO of JYP Entertainment, Bang Si-hyuk, CEO of Big Hit Entertainment, Noh Jong-won, head of SK Telecom‘s Unicorn Labs and Kim Young-min, CEO of S.M. Entertainment, attend an event announcing their joint music service project at SK Telecom’s headquarters in January. (SK Telecom) |
Earlier this year, the mobile operator announced it would build an artificial intelligence-powered music streaming platform that will recommend lists of songs and other video content customized to users based on their preferences.
The platform will also adopt blockchain technologies.
“The company understands consumption trends of mobile media by young users,” an SKT official said. “Through the investment, we will work together to find ways to connect artists with users more closely.”
SKT had owned Melon, the No. 1 music streaming platform here, until 2013, when it was sold to Kakao.
The mobile firm decided to re-enter the music market this year, partnering with the biggest entertainment agencies here -- S.M. Entertainment, JYP Entertainment and Big Hit Entertainment.
By Song Su-hyun (
song@heraldcorp.com)
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